Pendulum Wars
The Pendulum Wars were a 79 year-long conflict waged by the two superpowers of Sera, the Coalition of Ordered Governments and the Union of Independent Republics, HELLO :) for control of the planet's natural resources, namely Imulsion. Tens of thousands of human lives were lost in the conflict and the environment was significantly damaged by devastating weapons. The war was a deadlock for the majority of the years, until the COG broke the stalemate by going around the land warfare with the UIR and staging a daring raid in Aspho Fields. The COG stole the Hammer of Dawn technology during the Battle of Aspho Fields, and gained the advantage in the war. The Pendulum Wars ended shortly before the attack of the Locust Horde on Emergence Day. History Pre-War events Decades before the Pendulum wars, Sera was plunged in the millennia long conflict known as the Age of Armageddon Destroyed Beauty, nearly destroying both the human race and Sera. The humans rejected war and embraced an new era of peace, the Era of Silence. Leading to a period of advancement of arts, science, and culture and the abandonment of war. But the shortage of energy lead the fragile planet to more problems. Imulsion, a phosphorescent and low-viscosity fluid that was discovered by an oil-exploration drill, was unusable as an energy source until Dr. Helen Cooper created the Lightmass Process, which enabled production of cheap energy from this previously useless substance, marking the beginning of the Gold Rush. The full implementation of this process guaranteed a new energy source and led to the elimination of the need for hydrocarbon and nuclear-based fuel. However, the extremely low price of Imulsion energy and the massive loss of revenue and jobs in the traditional energy-producing industries soon caused Sera's world economy to collapse. The few countries that discovered an abundance of Imulsion below their land shortly thereafter found themselves at war with the many nations who were not as fortunate, and the Era of Silence ended as the Pendulum Wars began. The Rise of the COG During the seventy-nine year war, the Coalition of Ordered Governments, or COG, became a legitimate, if minor, political party. Founded long before the Pendulum Wars by fanatical socialist Alexiy Desipich, the party was based on an obscure world-government philosophy based on eight guiding principle values: Order, Diligence, Purity, Labor, Honor, Loyalty, Faith, and Humility. The COG began sending out their legions of Gear soldiers turning the Pendulum Wars from a conflict over Imulsion to a fight over freedoms. The Coalition overthrew many nations' vassal governments and accepted volunteers to fight the UIR armies.Gears of War: Aspho Fields page 344 79 Years of War Ostri Front The Ostri front was fought 30 years before the Siege of Anvil Gate,and saw extended trench warfare. Lt.Hoffman compared fighting inside the walls of Anvil Gate to the Ostri front.Gears of War:Anvil Gate Eastern Front One of the many fronts of the war was the eastern front. Gorasnaya was located there and many captured Gears were sent to forced labor camps.Gears of War:Anvil Gate Kashkur Fronts The COG defended the Imulsion rich nation of Kashkur border from the UIR nation of Furlin. The COG was able to contain and hold off the Indies until the president of Vasgar resigned after a vote of no confidence. This gave the UIR the opportunity to invade Vasgar and open a second front on Kashkur, allowing the UIR to attack the infamous fortress of Anvil Gate on the southern front. While an Indie army flanked on the western border from Furlin, their aim was the city of Shavad. The COG response to the Indies sending “peacekeepers” to Vasgar was to stop all Imulsion supply to neutral Vasgar, in turn hurting the Imulsion company and putting millions of Vasgar citizens in the dark, effectively shutting down the power stations and hospitals. The operation would force the UIR to ship in supplies from neighboiring friendly UIR nations while having to deal with a local population without a government and fuel. The only thing of military value left for the UIR in the Imulsion-starved nation would be the iron ore and vast factories in southern Vasgar. That is, if the UIR could keep the peace in the nation. Indie troops from Furlin invaded Kashkur from two fronts: on western border hitting the city of Shavad, and Anvil Gate on the Vasgari border in the south. On the Vasgari-Kashkur border, Indie's sabotaging effectively cut off Anvil Gate's only land route by destroying the canyon, showing that the UIR had dozens of special forces in the country before the fall of the Vasgari government. An Indie soldier with a RPG in the nearby cannons was able to kill Captain Sander and several other Gears, leading Lieutenant Hoffman to request a Pesang detatchment. However, High Command was unable to deliver fresh supplies or reinforcements since every Tern and the newly introduced King Ravens were occupied with combat missions in Shavad. The Last Decades The UIR laid siege to Anvil Gate, where the COG, with a handful of Pesang commandos defended the Gate from overwhelming forces, thus launching Major Hoffman's career. Four years before E-Day, the UIR attacked Irohma Island, defeating the local population. Elements of the 26th Royal Tyran infantry landed on the island and ended up recruiting a local. Around 3 years before E-Day, Indie saboteurs were operating from neutral Maranday to attack Sarfuth's Imulsion pipelines, while members of the 26th Royal Tyran infantry defended the areas and killed at least one saboteurGears of War:Aspho Fields page 95-107. The climax of the war was at Aspho Fields with Operation Leveler, leading to a total but costly COG victory and the capture of the Hammer of Dawn technology. The war would go on for another three years. Naval warfare The COG's armed forces revolved around it's Army branch until the Battle of Aspho Fields. Their Special Forces and Navy were given less attention, though Adam Fenix argued that the Navy and Air Corps must be expanded. Gears of War:Aspho Fields The COG Navy contained battleships in the early years of the Pendulum Wars, and had a diverse range of ships including destroyers, submarines, and helicopter carriers . Two years before E-Day the COG Navy attacked and leveled Berephus and Bonbourg, while LCTs landed on Aspho Fields. Gears of War:Aspho Fields The UIR Navy, along with the Gorasini Navy, had submarines and missile frigates that were able to survive the Pendulum Wars and Locust War.Gears of War:Jacinto’s RemnantGears of War:Anvil Gate. During the Pendulum Wars, the UIR had Tennad sailors use suicide submarines against the COG.Gears of War:Anvil Gate pg 366 Coalition Victory After the raid at Aspho Point and the Battle of Aspho Fields, the COG would battle the UIR for another two more years and losing thirty-thousand soldiers. Adam Fenix used the stolen Hammer of Dawn technology to create weapon based satellites for the COG. For his efforts Chairman Tomas Dalyell awarded him the Octus Medal.http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/116/1168340p1.html In the last battle of the warGears of War: Promise Me where Marcus Fenix fought in, the Hammer of Dawn is used in great effect, bringing the UIR government to their knees and bringing a short era of peace for the planet Sera.Gears of War Offical website timeline Even though the UIR had collapsed, both Adam Fenix and Marcus Fenix doubted that the new era of peace would last.Gears of War: Promise Me Aftermath Inside the mind of Marcus Fenix After the final battle of the war, The COG and UIR signed an armistice ending the war in the COG's favor.Gears of War:Jacinto's Remnant pg 375 The COG replaced several Indie nations with pro-coaltion governments, including Pelles and Ostri Republic, which were under the administration of Premier Yori Deschenko. While some Indie nations refused to surrender and continued an insurgency, mainly the infamous Republic of Gorasnaya.Gears of War:Jacintos' Remnant pg 380 For six weeks, the COG ruled all of Sera, before Emergence Day.Gears of War:Jacinto's Remnant pg 124 A planet-wide invasion of the surface, the COG was unable to hold back the Horde, losing all they gained in the 79 year old Pendulum Wars. Behind the Scenes The Pendulum wars may be named after the Pendulum, which is a weight suspended from a pivot so it can swing freely. It is most likely a representation of the war and its stalemate until the Battle of Aspho Fields. It can also be suggested that it is a reference to the number of machine-related names in the Gears of War universe. References Category:Battles Category:Wars Category:Events